Blog | The Academy for First Aid & Safety

EVA foam flooring at The Academy For First Aid and Safety of Toronto!

Posted on March 16, 2017 by admin

March 17, 2017:

It’s official: The Academy For First Aid and Safety of Toronto located at 2428 Islington Avenue is the first and only first aid training facility in the greater Toronto area to employ EVA foam flooring, making it extremely comfortable for students to perform CPR exercises.

Ethylene vinyl acetate (or EVA in abbreviation) is a 1/2 inch thick piece of soft foam and is commonly used in gymnasiums, rec centres, and martial arts training centres. The Academy For First Aid and Safety of Toronto decided to incorporate EVA foam flooring after feedback from students who complained that the hard tiled flooring was hard on their knees when performing CPR exercises on the ground.

We listened to our students and as a result, we went the extra mile, bypassing traditional carpeting in favour of a more luxurious EVA foam flooring for maximum comfort when performing ground exercises, such as CPR compressions.

– Kien Hoang: Canadian Red Cross First Aid Instructor

The Academy For First Aid and Safety of Toronto is extremely proud to be the first and only first aid training centre in the greater Toronto area to have EVA foam flooring at a facility which is 100% completely owned and operated by the business itself. The academy does not rent out temporary rooms by the hour or day, and the future is bright to expand to more locations and have EVA foam flooring at all of our facilities.

This is just another example of why you should choose The Academy For First Aid and Safety for your first aid & CPR training needs! Book a class now to see why!

First aid requirements for Security Guards in Ontario

Posted on March 12, 2017 by admin6 Comments

The Ministry of Private Security of Ontario says this, but the Ontario WSIB says something different:

If you are a security guard in the Province of Ontario, or are in the middle of obtaining one at an authorized training provider by the Ministry of Private Security & Investigative Services Branch, the laws and requirements for valid first aid & CPR are a bit confusing. Case in point, the PSISB which governs the secuirty guard and investigativer services industry in Ontario is saying one thing, but the Ontario WSIB on the other hand is saying something different:

Security guard basic training courses must be at least 40 hours long, including certification in Emergency First Aid/CPR.

– Ministry of Private Security and Investigative Services Branch of Ontario

However, Regulation 1101 from the Workplace Safety Insurance Act of Ontario makes things more complicated and confusing. They specify the following:

9. (1) Every employer employing more than five workers and not more than fifteen workers in any one shift at a place of employment shall provide and maintain a first aid station with a first aid box containing as a minimum:

(a) is the holder of a valid St. John Ambulance Standard First Aid Certificate or its equivalent; and
(b) works in the immediate vicinity of the box. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101, s. 9 (2).

– R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101: First aid requirements, Workplace Safety Insurance Act Ontario

So, the Private Security and Investigative Services Branch is saying that you need Emergency first aid & CPR, but the Ontario WSIB says you need Standard first aid & CPR. Confusing? Let’s clarify some things here:

Emergency first aid & CPR is required by the Ontario PSISB for LICENSING PURPOSES ONLY, not for employment purposes. This is the minimum requirement in order to become licensed as a security guard in the Province of Ontario.
Considering that you are licensed as a security guard and are on the job, as long as your job site location is between 1-5 people per shift and location (not in total), your emergency first aid & CPR will satisfy Regulation 1101.

Now here is where the confusion begins: As soon as your team on your shift and location exceeds 5 persons, your emergency first aid & CPR will no longer satisfy Regulation 1101, because the Act states that any shift more than five workers must need Standard first aid & CPR. This is a serious note to acknowledge, especially in the event of a workplace accident. Not only is the employee and employer not in compliance with Regulation 1101, the consequences for not being in compliance can result in:

Fines issued to the employee and employer for not being in compliance with Regulation 1101.
WORKPLACE INJURY CLAIMS DENIED BY WSIB: This part is the scariest part of not being in compliance with Regulation 1101 for both the employee and employer. In the event of a workplace injury, both employee and employer face the same responsibility for not being in compliance. If a WSIB claim is denied due to insufficent first aid certification, the legal claims arising between the employee and employer can get very messy and ugly. To pretty much sum up what will happen if an employee took an employer to court for a workplace injury claim, both sides will be pointing the finger at each other.

1-5 persons per shift and location: Emergency first aid is sufficient.

6-15 persons per shift and location: Standard first aid and CPR is required.

Example 1: You are working as a security guard at a construction site overnight. Your certification level needed is Emergency first aid.

Example 2: You work as a site supervisor at a condominium. There are 9 employees total working at the same location, but only 3 per shift (days,afternoon, nights). Regulation 1101 specifies what certification level you need based on workforce size, shift, and location. So even though the total workforce size is 9 employees, there are 3 per shift, so Emergency first aid is sufficient in this case.

Example 3: You work as a security guard at a shopping mall with a team of 8 per shift, 40 security guards total per day. Regulation 1101 states that anything over 5 employees per shift at the location now required Standard first aid & CPR. Meaning, your emergency first aid you received during your licensing process is insufficient for employment purposes.

In conclusion:

Ontario Regulation 1101 may cause some confusion for the security guard industry, and it is absolutely crucial for all security guard companies and employees in Ontario to be aware of contradiction information that is being given by the Ontario Private Security and Investigative Services Act and The Workplace Safety Insurance Act of Ontario.

Beware of phantom first aid & CPR training providers!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by admin5 Comments

When choosing a training provider for your first aid and CPR certification needs, it is crucial for everyone to do a little research about the training institution prior to paying for any course.

In Ontario, employers are bound by safety rules and regulations from both the Ontario Safety Association (or OSA) and the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (or WSIB) to provide adequate first aid training by a certified training provider, as outlined in the Workplace Safety Insurance Act of Ontario.

What type of first aid certification does WSIB require employees and employers to hold?

The Ontario Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) requires all employees to possess valid first aid and CPR from a WSIB APPROVED FIRST AID TRAINING PROVIDER.

So how do we know which training provider is approved by the WSIB? The WSIB has a link that shows all the approved WSIB training providers found by clicking on their approved list of training providers to deliver emergency and standard first aid & CPR.

As you can see from the list, the Canadian Red Cross is approved Provincial wide, and The Academy for First Aid & Safety is a Red Cross training partner. Also, our training partner status can be verified by visiting the Canadian Red Cross’ website.

Rest assured, your first aid certification obtained by our academy is recognized, valid, and approved certification that is complaint with both the WSIB and OSA.

Beware of non-compliant training providers:

Unfortunately, there are many so called “phantom” first aid training providers that provide to the general public first aid and CPR training programs. The course fees are generally lower due to the fact that they are not WSIB compliant. Although they can be as comprehensive as WSIB approved training providers, the end result is a first aid certification card that is non-compliant with the WSIB and OSA.

Legal ramifications in the workplace:

In the event of an on-site surprise audit by the WSIB, OSA, or both, if the employer and all their employees have been found to carry non-compliant first aid training, fines can be levied against the employer for failing to provide adequate first aid training as per Regulation 1101 from the Workplace Safety Insurance Act. What’s worse, if there was ever an injury at the workplace and the WSIB decides to inspect the accident scene and discovers that employees have non-WSIB compliant first aid training, this could spell legal trouble when it comes to WSIB injury claims against the employer.

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